memeorandum: Biden: Iran must be serious for US talks (Peter Schroeder/The Hill)

10:30 AM ET, February 2, 2013

Top Items:

Winslow Wheeler / TIME:

Hagel's Hearing: Profoundly Depressing — Chuck Hagel at his confirmation hearing Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee. — Watching the Senate Armed Services Committee interact Thursday with former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel—President Obama's candidate to be secretary of defense …

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, New Atlanticist, Guardian, Business Insider, News Desk, WorldViews, The Atlantic Online and American Prospect

Mark Steyn / National Review:

Containing Hagel — You don't have to be that good to fend off a committee of showboating senatorial blowhards. Hillary Clinton demonstrated that a week or so back when she unleashed what's apparently the last word in withering putdowns: What difference does it make? — Quite a bit of difference it seems.

Discussion: Power Line and Cold Fury

Andrew Kirell / Mediaite:

Mark Levin Explodes: 'The Muslim Brotherhood Has Infiltrated Our Gov't — It's Called Barack Obama' — On his radio show last night, Mark Levin went off on President Obama's decision to send F-16 planes and tanks to assist President Mohamed Morsi's Egyptian government, calling the president a Muslim Brotherhood “sympathizer.”

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Mock, Paper, Scissors and The Right Scoop

David Sanger / The Caucus:
On Iran, Hagel Muddles the Message

Discussion: Daily Pundit, The Lonely Conservative, Power Line, The PJ Tatler, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Right Turn, Slate and CBS News

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:
Any Profiles in Courage?

Discussion: TBogg

Twitter Blog:

Keeping our users secure — As you may have read, there's been a recent uptick in large-scale security attacks aimed at U.S. technology and media companies. Within the last two weeks, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal have chronicled breaches of their systems …

Scott Whitlock / NewsBusters blogs:

Disgraceful: Chris Matthews Smears John McCain as an ‘Angry’ Vietnam Vet Having a ‘Flashback’ — Liberal anchor Chris Matthews on Friday stooped to the lowest level, smearing John McCain as an “angry” Vietnam veteran who is having a “flashback.” Resorting to the cheapest of stereotypes …

Discussion: Hot Air and Ricochet Conversations Feed

Charles P. Pierce / Esquire:
TODAY IN HAGEL BASHING

Discussion: The Impolitic, LA Progressive, The Reaction and Crooks and Liars

Boston Globe:

Scott Brown will not run for US Senate — Scott Brown, who surprised the political world with his upset victory in the 2010 special election, announced Friday afternoon that he will not enter the special election to replace John F. Kerry. — “I was not at all certain that a third Senate campaign …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler, Balloon Juice, NationalJournal.com, The Raw Story and neo-neocon

Katharine Q. Seelye / The Caucus:
Brown Decides Against Massachusetts Senate Bid

Discussion: Hot Air and The Maddow Blog

Howie Carr / Boston Herald:
Scott Brown is not running for Senate

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Post Politics, Mediaite, Firedoglake and msnbc.com

Peter Schroeder / The Hill:

Biden: Iran must be serious for US talks — Vice President Joe Biden underlined the United States' willingness to talk directly with Iran, but only so long as that government is willing to work toward a specific goal. — Biden said the Obama administration would not sit down with Iran …

Discussion: CNN

Talking Points Memo:

Former First Dog Barney Bush Passes Away — The Bush family statement, via Reuters:

Discussion: Firedoglake and Mock, Paper, Scissors

Associated Press:

Ed Koch, three-term mayor who became a symbol of NYC, dead at 88 — NEW YORK - Former Mayor Ed Koch, the combative, acid-tongued politician who rescued the city from near-financial ruin during a three-term City Hall run in which he embodied New York chutzpah for the rest of the world, died Friday.

Discussion: “The Lid”, DownWithTyranny!, Business Insider and New York Post

Reuters:
Ed Koch, New York's colorful longtime former mayor, dies

Discussion: Atlas Shrugs, Joe. My. God., Algemeiner.com and LewRockwell.com Blog

Tom Gara / Corporate Intelligence:

Exclusive: Eric Schmidt Unloads on China in New Book … Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt is brutally clear: China is the most dangerous superpower on Earth. — Corporate Intelligence reviewed preliminary galleys of Schmidt's new book, “The New Digital Age,” (Random House) which debuts in April.

Discussion: Business Insider

Kevin Robillard / Politico:

Hillary Clinton: ‘I am more optimistic today’ — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said goodbye to the nation's diplomatic corps and aid workers on her last day on the job, and said she was more upbeat about the fate of the world than she had been at the start of her tenure.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, ABCNEWS and Taylor Marsh

Michael Tomasky / The Daily Beast:
Hillary Clinton Exits Politics: Her Enduring Legacy

Discussion: Mediaite, Pat Dollard, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, TheBlaze.com, The PJ Tatler, Ricochet Conversations Feed and Politico

Martin Fletcher / The Times:

Iran's space monkey triumph exposed as a fake … Iran enjoyed rare triumph on Monday — the successful launch of a monkey into space. — The regime proclaimed it as proof that Iranian scientists could match their Western counterparts, evidence that international sanctions were ineffectual, and a stepping stone to a manned flight.

Discussion: Gawker, BuzzFeed and Running Chicken

Timothy Gardner / Reuters:

Keystone pipeline decision to languish until mid-June-US source — * No time frame for national interest determination — The Obama administration's decision on the Keystone XL oil pipeline will not be made until at least June, a U.S. official said, which would delay the project for months …

Discussion: americanthinker.com, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers and The Daily Caller

Julie Watson / bigstory.ap.org:

APNEWSBREAK: MARINES ISSUE SURVEY ON WOMEN'S ROLE — You are here — Home » James F. Amos » APNewsBreak: Marines issue survey on women's role — SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Marine Corps survey found about 17 percent of male Marine respondents who planned to stay in the service …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Say Anything and ECHIDNE OF THE SNAKES

David Brooks / New York Times:

The Easy Problem — Over here in the department of punditry, we deal with a lot of hard issues, ones on which the evidence is mixed and the options are all bad. But the immigration issue is a blessed relief. On immigration, the evidence is overwhelming; the best way forward is clear.

Discussion: Balkinization and The Daily Dish

Arthur C. Brooks / New York Times:

My Valuable, Cheap College Degree — MUCH is being written about the preposterously high cost of college. The median inflation-adjusted household income fell by 7 percent between 2006 and 2011, while the average real tuition at public four-year colleges increased over that period by over 18 percent.

Discussion: AEIdeas

John Hinderaker / Power Line:

The Democrats' Unconstitutional Gun Grab — It's not just Washington: all across the country, the Democratic Party is trying to rob firearm owners of their constitutional rights. Here in Minnesota, the Democrats took control of both houses of the legislature in November …

Discussion: Shot in the Dark

Minnesota Legislature:
H.F. No. 243, as introduced - 88th Legislative Session (2013-2014)

Discussion: Shot in the Dark

Steven Ertelt / LifeNews.com:

Pro-Life Groups Blast Revisions to Obama Abortion-HHS Mandate — Leading pro-life groups don't have much good to say about the proposed changes the HHS department announced today to the Obamacare mandate that forces religious groups and religiously-run companies to pay for birth control and abortion-causing drugs.

Discussion: Politico, Pirate's Cove, Weasel Zippers, Gawker, ABCNEWS and The Gateway Pundit